Tease
by Cheeseburger of Doom
Summary: Kirihara has become Niou's favorite victim, but why? Doesn't he have anyone better to tease? Really.


A/N: I had a conversation with someone about NiouKiri, and was inspired to write some. I really didn't intend to evil-ize Yagyuu, but things happen, right? Ah, and this is for Kirihara's birthday (which is tomorrow, but I have to post it tonight because I'm going out tomorrow night. and I have to work all day. BOOO!)  
  
**Tease  
  
**It was Niou's last year of high school, and he was still pulling the kinds of immature pranks he'd been so fond of in junior high. Only now they were directed at Kirihara. Kirihara was Not Amused.

"Why don't you start acting your age, Niou-sempai?" Kirihara growled, when he found his locker stuffed full of condoms on his birthday, "For those steamy nights, with love from your secret admirer".

"I don't know what you're talking about," replied Niou, cheerfully and innocently.

"Your innocent look has never worked on me."

"Maybe that's because you're a worse trouble maker than I am."

Kirihara gave Niou his best evil glare. "I'm glad this is your last year."

"Oh come on, you know you'll miss me when I'm gone."

"Hardly!"

Niou shrugged. "Fine, then. Enjoy your birthday present, imp."

"Don't call me that!"

Why me? Kirihara wondered. Niou had an arm around him and looked for all the world like a possessive boyfriend -- and he was doing it in front of the girl that Kirihara had been about to ask out.

"Are you sure you can handle this wild one?" Niou asked. "I don't want to hand him over to just anyone, you know."

The girl looked slightly traumatized. "Um," she said.

"He's very cute, but quite the handful, especially when --"

"Quit it, Niou-sempai!" Kirihara pushed Niou away and stormed off angrily. His chances with the girl were ruined, although that wasn't even what was bothering him the most.

Why the hell was Niou so bent on teasing him every chance he got? It was annoying, and frustrating, and it made no sense, and -- and Kirihara was sick and tired of it.

Niou and Kirihara had never really been friends in junior high. They were teammates, and got along well enough, but that was about all. Kirihara didn't know when exactly that had changed -- but in his first year of high school, Niou had made himself Kirihara's mentor, of sorts. He was always there, and at first Kirihara had appreciated it --

Until he'd become Niou's victim. He wasn't sure exactly when it had begun, but these days, he was Niou's favorite person to torture.

"Can't you just bother Yagyuu-sempai?" Kirihara had grumbled after the first couple of annoyances.

"It wouldn't be nearly as much fun, especially since I rarely talk to him anymore," Niou had replied. He had been grinning -- but Kirihara had been surprised. He'd thought that those two were more than friends --

Maybe they had been, but weren't anymore.

"Well, stop picking on me," Kirihara had said.

"Sure, sure." It wasn't exactly a promise -- and Niou hadn't stuck by it, either.

Kirihara didn't know for how much longer he could take it. Teasing got very, very old after a while.

"Hey, I'm sorry I ruined your chances with the chick, but you're not going to hate me forever are you? You didn't really like her anyway."

"How would you know if I liked her or not?" Kirihara demanded.

"You would have punched me if you did. She wasn't worth your time anyway, she was an airhead."

"Since when are you the expert on these things?"

"Hey, I know everything!"

"You're such an asshole." Kirihara's exasperation reached its peak. "It's not just about her, anyway! You're always bothering me! Why can't you just knock it off for once?"

"I do it because I like you!"

"And don't say stupid things like that!" It was Niou's long-standing joke -- he always said "I like you", just like that, but it didn't mean anything. It was stupid.

"I didn't think it was all that stupid," Niou said. For a moment, Kirihara thought he was being serious, and he was shocked -- and then Niou grinned that moronic grin, and Kirihara felt like beating him to death.

"Don't you love me too, kid?"

"Actually I hate you, and don't call me kid," Kirihara said. "In fact, don't call me anything at all anymore. I'm sick of your face!"

Niou blinked.

"What, you don't understand? I'm telling you to get lost! I can't stand you!"

"I see. I won't be bothering you anymore, then, since you can't take a joke," Niou said.

"Good!"

Niou walked away. Kirihara felt very relieved. Finally, he would have some peace!

There was nothing waiting for him in his locker for the next week. There were no fake love notes in his school books, or plastic insects in his school bag. Niou did not drape himself across Kirihara when Kirihara tried to talk to girls -- and Kirihara realized he didn't have much to say to those girls, anyway.

Niou had always done the talking for him.

"I hate you," Kirihara said.

"Yes, we've already done that one," Niou said. "Do you hate me so much that you have to tell me once a week or something?"

"Bastard. When I told you to get lost, I didn't mean it!"

"Then why did you say it?"

"Because you're an asshole!"

Niou's eyebrows knit together. "You know, you're not making very much sense right now. You hate me, but you don't hate me? Which is it?"

"Both!"

"Then you must really be in love with me."

"I'm not --"

"That's the only way you could have strong feelings in both directions, isn't it?" Niou grinned.

"Stop teasing me like that!" Kirihara was so angry, and he didn't even really know why. Why did it bother him so much when Niou teased him? Was it the teasing himself, or was it that he didn't mean it?

"Why? You can't take a little teasing?"

"Because you don't mean a word of it!" Kirihara slapped a hand over his mouth, but it was too late. The words had already been spoken.

Niou looked startled for a moment, and then he smiled -- but it was a different smile than usual. "Well, I'm sorry for hurting your feelings. Maybe you do love me a little, after all."

"I don't --"

"That's okay though, because I really do like you, kid."

"Don't call me kid!" Kirihara exclaimed automatically, and then -- "What?"

"Why else would I tease you so much? You're very cute, you know."

"I'm not cute!"

"You are! Especially when you're angry. Although, I really was afraid that you hated me, after all."

"I do hate you!"

"You really can't make up your mind today, can you? There's only one way to find out for sure."

The kiss that followed made Kirihara's knees weak and his head spin. He would have fallen over if Niou hadn't been holding him.

"Well?"

"Damn," Kirihara said. "Do it again."

Niou laughed, and then he complied.

Life got a lot more interesting after that. The teasing didn't get better -- in fact, it got worse. And when Niou draped himself around Kirihara like a jealous boyfriend, it was because he was exactly that.

"Why didn't you just tell me you liked me in the first place?" Kirihara asked one afternoon. He was on Niou's bed, studying. Niou was at the desk, making paper airplanes with his homework and tossing them at Kirihara periodically.

"I was afraid you might be a homophobe," Niou replied. "I couldn't really tell. I didn't want to have another experience like -- well, an unpleasant experience I had."

"What happened?"

"Damn, I made you curious. You won't leave me alone now, will you?" Niou sighed. "You know how Yagyuu and I had this weird thing going on in junior high?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I thought it was because Yagyuu was like me, but it turns out that it was just some weird thing. We might have stayed friends if I hadn't screwed up and kissed him. He didn't like that very much."

Kirihara didn't know what to say to that. He wasn't very good at comfort. He fidgeted with his textbook, uncomfortable with the silence -- and then he felt Niou leaning over him.

"I'm glad things worked out this way," Niou whispered in his ear.

"So am I."

"Will you miss me when I'm done school?"

It was hard to answer when Niou was kissing his neck like that, but he managed. "No."

"That's a bit harsh."

"I won't miss you because I'll still see you every day," Kirihara said. "Right?"

"You're a smart boy."

"Yeah. And stop kissing me like that unless you mean it."

"You know I mean it."

"That's not what I'm talking about."

"Does that mean you want to try out that birthday present I got for you?"

Kirihara's face turned pink. "What, all of them? I don't have that kind of stamina."

Niou laughed. "You're so perverted. It's no wonder I like you so much."

"Niou-sempai!"

"Well, that isn't the only reason I like you."

"Can you stop talking and get on with it?"

"So impatient, aren't we Akaya?"

"NIOU!"


End file.
